Jameria Johnson, left, a third-grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, and Ka'Marion Lanier, a third-grader at Rolling Hills Elementary, use the newly implemented Wi-Fi at the Showers Center on Monday. The city has provided free wireless access at five new locations. (Crystal Bonvillian/cbonvillian@al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- There was a steady chatter at the Dr. Richard Showers Recreation Center this afternoon as students from a variety of north Huntsville schools did their homework.

There was a little more excitement than usual among the children, who were using the newly implemented wireless access provided by the city. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Superintendent Casey Wardynski announced in a news conference at the recreation center that free Wi-Fi is being provided in five new locations to help students complete their studies.

"There are about 30 children in there right now, focused," Wardynski said. "That would not be the case if I'd given them paper textbooks. The books would be in the corner and they'd be focused on something else."

Battle said the expanded Wi-Fi access - at the Showers Center, Brahan Spring Recreation Center, Cavalry Hill Community Center, Lakewood Community Center and Westside Community Center - cost the city $14,000 to implement. It adds to the city's growing number of Wi-Fi hotspots, which include hotspots at Big Spring Park, John Hunt Park and the Burritt Museum.

The addition of the five new locations was done specifically with students and their parents in mind.

"This provides another layer of support to our school district," Battle said.

The district in August implemented its Digital 1:1 Initiative, which provided students with laptops or iPads and digital textbooks. There have been issues, however, in parts of the city where students do not have Internet access at home.

Wardynski said that some schools in the district have 97 percent of students with Internet access at home, but that for others, fewer than 70 percent of students have that same access. The city has been working with the school district to provide more free access for students.

The students at the Showers Center today seemed glad to have the help. Bre Sterling, a fourth-grader at Rolling Hills Elementary, said it makes doing her homework easier.

"We have to do our spelling words (on the computer)," said Sterling, 9. "It's easier to do on the computer. On paper, you have to write them out, but on the computer you can type them."

Battle said there will likely be a surge in the number of people accessing the city's free Wi-Fi, but that the system has not had any problems handling the load thus far. In September, more than 297,000 users connected to one of the city's Wi-Fi points.

The city's community centers are open until 9 p.m. on weekdays, with shorter hours on the weekends. For more information on the centers, visit huntsvilleal.gov/recreation.